Blasphemy Case

A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced a university professor to death for blasphemy under a law that critics say is often used to target minorities and liberal activists.

Police in Pakistan's Sindh province on Monday registered three cases against 218 rioters for vandalising properties, including a temple, after a school principal from the minority Hindu community was charged for alleged blasphemy, according to media reports.

Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who was freed from death row by the Supreme Court in a high-profile sacrilege case last year that polarised the society, has called for reforms in the country's "harsh" blasphemy law, according to a media report.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday urged Pakistan to do more to stop the abuse of blasphemy laws after the release of Asia Bibi, who escaped a death sentence in a case that drew international scrutiny.

A Pakistani Christian woman who spent eight years on death row over false blasphemy charges, Asia Bibi, has left the country, her lawyer and media said on Wednesday, more than six months after she was acquitted by Pakistan's top court.

A US lawmaker has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to grant asylum to Pakistani woman Asia Bibi, who was acquitted by the Supreme Court in a blasphemy case, claiming she was "persecuted" in the Muslim-majority country for being a Christian.

The daughters of Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi, whose blasphemy case spotlighted religious extremism in her country, are now in Canada, a source close to the case said Wednesday.

Asia Bibi, the Christian woman at the centre of a blasphemy row which has ignited violent protests, been linked to two assassinations and spotlighted religious extremism in Pakistan, is expected to leave the country after its top court on Tuesday upheld her acquittal of the inflammatory charge.

Pakistan's Supreme Court will on Tuesday begin a review of its own acquittal of a Christian woman charged with blasphemy, a verdict that sparked days of Islamist protests and threats and chaos across the country.

Pakistan's Supreme Court will decide on January 29 whether to allow an appeal against its acquittal of a Christian woman at the centre of a blasphemy row, a lawyer involved in the case said Thursday.

Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi will celebrate Christmas under guard, despite being cleared of the blasphemy charges that kept her in jail since 2010.

A hardline cleric has been charged with terrorism and sedition offences by the Pakistani government, after he led violent protests to oppose the acquittal of a Christian woman from blasphemy charges, a minister said Saturday.

Pakistani authorities on Friday night arrested an ultra-right religious party leader whose followers have shut down major cities demanding stricter application of stringent laws on blasphemy against Islam.

The Netherlands recalled staff from its embassy in Pakistan following threats after providing shelter to the lawyer of a Christian woman in a blasphemy case, the Dutch foreign minister said on Monday.

Recent developments in Pakistan on the Asia Bibi case should serve as a warning for us in India. Although in entirely different circumstances, the relevance for us in India of the Pakistani case is that it was triggered by blatant defiance and opposition to a landmark Supreme Court judgement by zealots operating in the guise of defending religion a...

A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced a university professor to death for blasphemy under a law that critics say is often used to target minorities and liberal activists.

Police in Pakistan's Sindh province on Monday registered three cases against 218 rioters for vandalising properties, including a temple, after a school principal from the minority Hindu community was charged for alleged blasphemy, according to media reports.

Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who was freed from death row by the Supreme Court in a high-profile sacrilege case last year that polarised the society, has called for reforms in the country's "harsh" blasphemy law, according to a media report.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday urged Pakistan to do more to stop the abuse of blasphemy laws after the release of Asia Bibi, who escaped a death sentence in a case that drew international scrutiny.

A Pakistani Christian woman who spent eight years on death row over false blasphemy charges, Asia Bibi, has left the country, her lawyer and media said on Wednesday, more than six months after she was acquitted by Pakistan's top court.

A US lawmaker has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to grant asylum to Pakistani woman Asia Bibi, who was acquitted by the Supreme Court in a blasphemy case, claiming she was "persecuted" in the Muslim-majority country for being a Christian.

The daughters of Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi, whose blasphemy case spotlighted religious extremism in her country, are now in Canada, a source close to the case said Wednesday.

Asia Bibi, the Christian woman at the centre of a blasphemy row which has ignited violent protests, been linked to two assassinations and spotlighted religious extremism in Pakistan, is expected to leave the country after its top court on Tuesday upheld her acquittal of the inflammatory charge.

Pakistan's Supreme Court will on Tuesday begin a review of its own acquittal of a Christian woman charged with blasphemy, a verdict that sparked days of Islamist protests and threats and chaos across the country.

Pakistan's Supreme Court will decide on January 29 whether to allow an appeal against its acquittal of a Christian woman at the centre of a blasphemy row, a lawyer involved in the case said Thursday.

Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi will celebrate Christmas under guard, despite being cleared of the blasphemy charges that kept her in jail since 2010.

A hardline cleric has been charged with terrorism and sedition offences by the Pakistani government, after he led violent protests to oppose the acquittal of a Christian woman from blasphemy charges, a minister said Saturday.

Pakistani authorities on Friday night arrested an ultra-right religious party leader whose followers have shut down major cities demanding stricter application of stringent laws on blasphemy against Islam.

The Netherlands recalled staff from its embassy in Pakistan following threats after providing shelter to the lawyer of a Christian woman in a blasphemy case, the Dutch foreign minister said on Monday.

Recent developments in Pakistan on the Asia Bibi case should serve as a warning for us in India. Although in entirely different circumstances, the relevance for us in India of the Pakistani case is that it was triggered by blatant defiance and opposition to a landmark Supreme Court judgement by zealots operating in the guise of defending religion a...